Tag Archives: Ilyasah Shabazz

Newswire: Investigators exonerate men convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X

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Malcom X

By Stacy M. Brown: NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Two of the men found guilty of the assassination of Malcolm X had their convictions thrown out on Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney, and lawyers for the two men said, according to the New York Times.

The stunning reversal recasts history and reopens the case of the slaying of Malcolm X, who died in a hail of gunfire at the old Audubon Theater in New York’s Harlem area.

The exoneration of the two men, Muhammad A. Aziz, and Khalil Islam, represents a “remarkable acknowledgment of grave errors made in a case of towering importance: the 1965 murder of one of America’s most influential Black leaders in the fight against racism,” the Times reported.

The newspaper noted that a 22-month investigation conducted jointly by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and lawyers for the two men found that prosecutors and two of the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies — the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department — had withheld key evidence that, had it been turned over, would likely have led to the men’s acquittal.

The two men, known at the time of the killing as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, spent decades in prison for the murder, which took place on Feb. 21, 1965, when three men opened fire inside a crowded ballroom at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan as Malcolm X was starting to speak.

Earlier this year, the civil rights leader’s daughters formally requested that authorities reopen the murder investigation because of new evidence.

“Any evidence that provides greater insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated,” said Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X’s six daughters.
Shabazz and her family cited a deathbed letter of confession from a man who was a policeman at the time of the 1965 killing, alleging New York police and the FBI conspired in the murder.
Raymond Wood wrote his responsibility was to ensure Malcolm X’s security team were arrested days before he was shot dead in Manhattan, the daughters stated.

The men convicted were all members of the Nation of Islam and were each sentenced to life in prison. At the time of his death, Malcolm X had separated himself from the Nation of Islam.
Assassins gunned him down at the age of 39.

Newswire: Attorney Ben Crump and daughters of Malcolm X reveal NYPD officer’s ‘death bed’ confession of NYPD/FBI Conspiracy

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Press conference revealing new evidence in assassination of Malcom X
Qubiliah Shabazz, Ilyasah Shabazz, Gamilah Shabazz and Attorney Ben Crump unveil what they say is new evidence in the decades-old slaying at New York’s Audubon Ballroom.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Almost 56 years to the date of the Feb. 21, 1965, assassination of Malcolm X, the slain leader’s daughters and a noted civil rights attorney are shining a light on those whom they believe are responsible for the heartless murder.
The group gathered on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the old Audubon Ballroom – since renamed The Shabazz Center – with lawyers Ray Hamlin and Paul Napoli and Reggie Wood, whose relative, NYPD Officer Ray Wood, allegedly confessed in a deathbed declaration letter. The gathering occurred in the same venue as the assassination and just one day before the heinous crime’s anniversary.
The new allegations focus on Officer Wood and a conspiracy against organized civil rights groups that he said had been perpetrated by the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Reggie Wood alleges that authorities conspired to assassinate Malcolm X in Harlem.“Ray Wood, an undercover police officer at the time, confessed in a deathbed declaration letter that the NYPD and the FBI conspired to undermine the legitimacy of the civil rights movement and its leaders,” Crump stated.
“Without any training, Wood’s job was to infiltrate civil rights organizations and encourage leaders and members to commit felonious acts,” Crump noted in a news release before the gathering.
“He was also tasked with ensuring that Malcolm X’s security detail was arrested days prior to the assassination, guaranteeing Malcolm X didn’t have door security while at the Audubon Ballroom, where he was killed on Feb. 21, 1965.”
Wood’s purported death bed letter was delivered to three of Malcolm’s daughters – Qubiliah, Ilyasah, and Gamilah.
Reggie Wood, the administrator of Ray Wood’s estate, read the letter to Malcolm’s daughters. Ray Wood served as an undercover New York City police officer with the Bureau of Special Services and Investigation (BOSSI).
Three men were convicted of Malcolm X’s 1965 murder.
Talmadge Hayer, who later changed his name to Mujahid Abdul Halim, was the only one to admit guilt in the assassination. Norman Butler, who later changed his name to Muhammad Abdul Aziz, and Thomas Johnson, later named Khalil Islam, maintained their innocence. Aziz won parole in 1985; Islam was released in 1987, and Halim was released in 2010. Islam died in 2009.
A Netflix documentary, “Who Killed Malcolm X?,” was released last year and featured interviews conducted by Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, an activist and investigator who said he dedicated his life to solving Malcolm’s murder. Following the documentary’s release, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced it would review the case and reopen it if they found new evidence.Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr., could not immediately be reached for comment.